Buzz

Judging by the pages of recent journals and books, one could easily believe biodiversity conservation is experiencing a crisis. New phrases and metaphors abound, making for great headlines. Protecting the Wild is one of two new volumes that are entirely motivated by this supposed fracture in conservation. From a quick look at these books, one would think that there are thousands of scientists and conservationists in the streets, calling for the end of protected areas. Of course, this is far from reality. Even the volume's archenemy, Peter Kareiva, is not explicitly opposed to parks; rather, his focus just happens to be on all the stuff outside of parks and wilderness: “Conservation will likely continue to create parks and wilderness areas, but that will be just one of the field's larger goals. The bigger questions… regard what will we do with the rest of it.” Arguments for silver bullets, however, make better copy than cost–benefit analyses do.